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Luke 15:11-32 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

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This morning's text is Luke chapter 15, verses 11 through 32.
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So please join us there as we turn our attention to the study of God's word, Luke chapter 15.
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Now this is most likely a familiar text to you.
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If you've been following along with our church's Bible reading plan, it was part of Tuesday's reading.
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I hope this morning you'll be enriched by a further study of it.
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Now there is a lot to be said about these verses.
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I have more notes than usual, so I'm going to move pretty quickly this morning,
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and I'll structure our study around the three characters.
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So we'll first look at the younger son, then at the father, and finally at the older son.
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I'm going to present a number of points for each of these characters,
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and we'll do my best to do so in a way that you can keep up with.
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But if you do have a pen in your hand and are trying to take notes,
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I just want to go ahead and prep you.
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Stretch your fingers a little bit.
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Get ready to move fast.
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So let's read our text, but for a bit of context,
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I want to begin the reading at the beginning of chapter 15.
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So this is Luke chapter 15, beginning in verse 1.
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Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to him,
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and the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying,
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This man receives sinners and eats with them.
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So he told them this parable.
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What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them,
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does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the one that is lost until he finds it?
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And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
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But when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them,
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Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.
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Just so I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents
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than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
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Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin,
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does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it?
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When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying,
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Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.
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Just so I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.
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And he said,
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There was a man who had two sons.
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And the younger of them said to his father,
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Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.
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And he divided his property between them.
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Not many days later, the younger son gathered all that he had and took a journey into a far country.
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And there he squandered his property in reckless living.
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And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country.
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And he began to be in need.
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So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country,
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who sent him into his field to feed pigs.
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And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate.
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And no one gave him anything.
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But when he came to himself, he said,
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How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger.
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I will arise and go to my father.
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And I will say to him,
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Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.
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I am no longer worthy to be called your son.
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Treat me as one of your hired servants.
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And he arose and came to his father.
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But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion and ran and embraced him and kissed him.
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And the son said to him,
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Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.
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I am no longer worthy to be called your son.
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But the father said to his servants,
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Bring quickly the best robe and put it on him and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet and bring the fattened calf and kill it and let us eat and celebrate.
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For this my son was dead and is alive again.
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He was lost and is found.
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And they began to celebrate.
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Now his older son was in the field.
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And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing.
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And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant.
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And he said to him,
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Your brother has come and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.
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But he was angry and refused to go in.
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His father came out and entreated him.
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But he answered his father,
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Look, these many years I have served you and I never disobeyed your command.
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Yet you never gave me a young goat that I might celebrate with my friends.
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But when this son of yours came who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.
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And he said to him,
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Son, you are always with me and all that is mine is yours.
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It was fitting to celebrate and be glad for this brother was dead and is alive.
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He was lost and is found.
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The contemporary pastor and commentator John MacArthur has called the story of the prodigal son,
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the greatest short story ever told.
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This story has been often cited and exists in the collective conscience of our culture,
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but is most often misunderstood.
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I pray this morning we will arrive at a clearer understanding of its meaning.
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The story is primarily told by Jesus in order to address the attitudes of the religious elite,
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who Luke tells us about at the beginning of chapter 15, verse 2,
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and the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying,
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This man receives sinners and eats with them.
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So as Jesus is being compassionate for those who would come to him in repentance,
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they're upset about it.
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So in response, Luke tells us Jesus, verse 3, told them this parable.
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And then Luke records the parable of the lost sheep.
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And then verse 8, or what woman?
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And then tells the parable of the lost coin.
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And then, without skipping a beat, verse 11,
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There's always a great temptation to allegorize Jesus' parables,
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to make everything in the text take on some complex symbolic meaning.
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People do this all the time.
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But we must be really careful to see here that Jesus is driving a solitary point.
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He is juxtaposing the attitudes of the Pharisees and the scribes
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with the rejoicing of heaven over lost souls being found.
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We need to keep this in mind as we consider the story of the prodigal son.
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It sits within a chapter of parables with an even larger cultural reality.
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And we need to do some faithful work to understand its meaning and bearing on us today.
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I want to pose the question at the outset,
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In what ways are we like the older son?
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In what ways are we like the older son?
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Once we identify any way that we are like the older son,
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we have been given reason.
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For repentance.
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And I pray that we'll do so this morning.
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But first, let's look at the character of the younger son.
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So first, the younger son.
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The younger son is the prodigal himself.
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All of us, in some measure, find ourselves in him.
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The word prodigal means licentious or lavish,
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or as the ESV says in the text in verse 13, reckless.
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The prodigal son is prodigal in his sin, in his rebellion against his father.
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Now, there are various stages in the history of a sinner.
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This is true of the prodigal and are worth noting for our benefit.
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This is especially important for you this morning if you have not believed in Jesus Christ.
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But if you have believed, do not think that a careful consideration of who you once were is a fruitless effort.
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This could be of great benefit to us.
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It's always good to remember the grace of God to us in Jesus Christ.
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To be reminded of what we were saved from makes us revel,
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and I think it should make us revel afresh each time,
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in who we have been saved to.
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So, some sub points for you for the son.
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Number one, independence from God.
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Number two, indulgence of self.
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Number three, insanity of soul.
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And for those of us who are in Christ, right,
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this journey ends, number four, with repentance and faith.
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So, first, let's look at the younger son's independence from God,
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this history of sin, right?
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Verse 12 says,
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The younger said to his father,
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Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.
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And the father divides the property among them.
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We first learn of a man with two sons.
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Inheritance in Jesus' day was governed by the law of primogenitor.
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I think I'm pronouncing that correctly.
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Finally, the eldest son, under this law, received a double portion of the inheritance,
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which means, in the case of two sons,
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that the older son would receive two-thirds of the inheritance,
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and the younger, one-third.
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Upon the request of his inheritance,
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the father not only grants the younger brother what he asked for,
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but also the older.
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Notice at the end of verse 12,
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And he divided his property between them.
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This fact bears a great deal of significance later on.
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This morning, what we need to understand about the prodigal's request
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is that it was absolutely audacious.
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To ask this of a father was a huge ask.
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Under the law of primogenitor,
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inheritance was only granted upon the death of the father.
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So the younger son, in requesting his inheritance,
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was wishing his father dead.
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This is the nature of sin.
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This is the way that sin expresses, right?
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A rejection of God's good, loving rule.
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We are saying to God,
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We wish you were dead.
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Pastor John Piper wants to find sin like this.
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You may have heard this before.
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It's greater when he says it,
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but he defined it this way.
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The glory of God not honored.
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The holiness of God not reverence.
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The greatness of God not admired.
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The power of God not praised.
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The truth of God not sought.
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The wisdom of God not esteemed.
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The beauty of God not treasured.
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The goodness of God not savored.
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The faithfulness of God not trusted.
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The promises of God not believed.
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The commandments of God not obeyed.
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The justice of God not respected.
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The wrath of God not feared.
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The grace of God not cherished.
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The presence of God not prized.
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The person of God not loved.
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We can observe the prodigal's expression of sin
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in the very first sin found in Genesis chapter 3
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and in every sin ever since.
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Sin expresses a desire for God to be dead.
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We once sought independence from God
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just as the prodigal son desired independence
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from his father.
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And this should be an absolute shock to us.
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The fact that this son would ask that his father be dead
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that he would get his inheritance should shock us.
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In a culture where honor was massively important
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and the fifth commandment, honor your father and mother
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was not only part of the moral law
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but also the judicial,
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this request was more than just a little scandalous
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for Jesus' hearers.
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Let me read to you quickly from Deuteronomy chapter 21.
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This is the judicial part of the fifth commandment.
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If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son
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who will not obey the voice of his father
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or the voice of his mother
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and though they discipline him,
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will not listen to them,
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then his father and his mother shall take hold of him
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and bring him out to the elders of his city
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at the gate of the place where he lives.
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And they shall say to the elders of this city,
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this our son is stubborn and rebellious.
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He will not obey our voice.
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He is a glutton and a drunkard.
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Then all the men of the city
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shall stone him to death with stones.
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So you shall purge the evil from your midst
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and all Israel shall hear and fear.
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So they took this kind of rejection of fatherly care
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very seriously.
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Insolence was a serious infraction.
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And while the instruction of Deuteronomy chapter 21
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was very rarely followed,
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a son like the prodigal
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would be publicly shamed and disowned.
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The father may not have gone so far
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as to stone his son,
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but he would have publicly shamed him
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and disowned him.
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Here, however, the father divides his property
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between his sons.
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Now we've done this very thing
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in our willful rebellion against God's good instruction,
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whether found in the pages of scripture
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or in the law written on our hearts,
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we have all rebelled against God
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and wished him dead.
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We have all sought independence
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from our good father.
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We have all wanted ourselves
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to be gods
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and we all deserve to be shamed.
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Secondly, for the son,
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the younger son,
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indulgence of self.
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So verse 13 says,
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not many days later,
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the younger son gathered all he had
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and took a journey into a far country
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and there he squandered his property
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in reckless living.
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And so the son leaves,
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which appears to have been his plan,
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as Jesus states,
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not many days later.
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The son would have liquidated his inheritance
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into transportable cash.
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So he sold off land.
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He sold off livestock.
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Recall that Jesus is speaking
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to a Jewish audience.
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So the statement that the son took a journey
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into a far country
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would have been understood
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to be a journey to Gentile lands.
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To Jesus' listeners,
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there's a compounding audacity of the son
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going to live among unclean people
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to carry out unclean motives.
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In their minds,
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this son is not a forgivable son.
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He is doing something above and beyond
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offensive to his father.
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He takes the inheritance
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that the father granted him
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and he spends it on himself.
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He spends it on his desires.
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He does not seek to do good,
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but rather indulges his every whim.
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He spends it in reckless living.
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The sinner indulges in self.
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The sinner seeks their own pleasure,
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not the glory of God
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or the good of their fellow man.
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And beloved,
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we have all been selfish in this way.
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Paul writes to Titus
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in Titus chapter three and verse three,
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for we ourselves were once foolish,
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disobedient,
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led astray,
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slaves to various passions and pleasures,
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passing our days in malice and envy,
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hated by others
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and hating one another.
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The next stage in this history of sin
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in the younger son's life
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is number three,
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insanity of soul.
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We see beginning in verse 14
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and down through 16
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that after he'd spent everything,
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spent all of his inheritance,
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a famine arose
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and he's in need.
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So he hires himself out
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to be a keeper of pigs
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and he has nothing to eat.
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He longs to eat the food
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that the pigs are eating.
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Jesus next tells his hearers
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that the young man spent
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all of his inheritance
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and found himself
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in a desperate spot
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as the land entered
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into a famine, right?
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The pleasures of sin are real,
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but they are temporal
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and they are fleeting.
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The prodigal experienced
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the temporal pleasure of sin
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in a very stark way.
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He ventures rapidly
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from reckless living
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to abject poverty.
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His sin placed him
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in a dreadful spot.
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If you have not believed in Christ,
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I pray that you would repent
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and believe
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before you find yourself
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in such a place.
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The prodigal becomes
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a keeper of pigs,
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which would have been
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additionally shocking
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to Jesus' Jewish hearers
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as the pig was an unclean animal.
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The prodigal is further
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forsaking his father
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and his nationality
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and he has become
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so desperately hungry
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that he desires
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to eat something
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that can never satisfy.
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Jesus said he was longing
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to be fed with the pods
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that the pigs ate.
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These pods would have been
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carob pods,
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which was a hardy plant
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that produced tough,
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leathery pod shells
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with hard beads.
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They're barely digestible
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for pigs
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and they're not digestible
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for humans,
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although I've been informed
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that they can be ground
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into something
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that kind of replaces
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cocoa powder,
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so sort of,
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but I don't think
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he had a food processor
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on hand with him.
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This is the way of sin.
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Seeking to be satisfied
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with that
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which will never satisfy.
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This is insanity
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of the soul
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and this is people
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before they're regenerate,
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before they find
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their joy and satisfaction.
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In Christ,
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seeking satisfaction
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with things
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that will never satisfy.
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We are offered
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abundant satisfaction
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in relationship
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with God,
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but we turned
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to worthless things.
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Jeremiah chapter 2,
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verse 12 and 13,
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Be appalled,
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O heavens,
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at this.
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Be shocked,
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be utterly desolate,
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declares the Lord.
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For my people
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have committed
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two evils.
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They have forsaken me,
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the fountain
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of living waters,
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and hewed out cisterns
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for themselves,
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broken cisterns
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that can hold
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no water.
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Paul expresses the same
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in Romans chapter 1,
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verse 21 and 22.
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For although they knew God,
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they did not honor him
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as God or give thanks
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to him,
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but they became futile
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in their thinking
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and their foolish hearts
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were darkened.
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Claiming to be wise,
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they became fools.
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Christian,
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you have been delivered
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from such utility
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by the grace of God.
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Rejoice in him
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and remember
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you have been delivered
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and spared from.
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If you have not placed
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believing faith
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in Jesus Christ
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this morning,
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take a moment
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to consider the prodigal
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and his desperate state.
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He surely would have died
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had he stayed
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in that state.
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Jesus concludes
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this portion of the text
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with a statement
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and no one gave him anything.
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He had left the goodness
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of his father's house
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to find himself
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desperately lost
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in a foreign land.
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If you were not
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in Christ this morning,
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whether you recognize it
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or not,
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you find yourself
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in the very same state.
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Charles Spurgeon
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once said,
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if you must play the fool,
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take some lighter things
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to trifle with
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than your souls
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and your eternal destinies.
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Shut yourselves up
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alone for a while.
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Go through the matter
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steadily.
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Lay it out in order.
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Make a plan of it.
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See where you are going.
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Think over the way
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of salvation,
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the story of the cross,
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the love of God,
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the readiness,
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of Christ to save.
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So fourthly,
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for the younger son,
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we see repentance
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and faith.
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Verse 17
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and following,
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but when he came
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to himself,
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he said,
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how many of my father's
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hired servants
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have more than enough bread,
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but I perish here
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with hunger.
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I will arise
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and go to my father
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and I will say to him,
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father,
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I have sinned against heaven
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and before you.
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I am no longer worthy
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to be called your son.
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Treat me as one
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of your hired servants.
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Praise God
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that the prodigal
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of Jesus' story
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does not stay
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in this desperate state,
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but Jesus says
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he came to himself,
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that he returned
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to his right mind.
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He recognized
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the goodness
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of his father.
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He remembered
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that even his father's
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hired servants
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had more than enough bread
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and that he was
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being foolish
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to stay where he was
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and perish
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with hunger.
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So he makes a plan.
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He decides to go back
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to his father,
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humbly admitting
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the error of his way,
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saying,
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I have sinned
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against heaven
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and before you
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and being willing
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to live once again
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under his father
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good instruction,
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not as a son
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this time,
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but as a servant.
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The prodigal
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turns from his wickedness,
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the foolish error
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of his way.
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This is called
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repentance
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and he turns
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to his father,
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believing that his father
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will be good to him.
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This is the prodigal's
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faith.
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We will see next
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the loving kindness
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of the father
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toward the son
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as he repents
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and believes.
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We will see that
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as the son returns
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in repentance and faith,
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the father becomes
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humble himself
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in order to love his son
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and to spare him
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from his deserved punishment.
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The father takes
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on the son's shame
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to restore him
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to sonship
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and there is
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much rejoicing.
20:21
Dear listener,
20:22
if you have not
20:23
humbled yourself
20:23
before God,
20:24
recognize that you
20:25
have sought
20:25
independence from him,
20:27
that you have lived
20:28
in a state
20:28
of indulgence
20:29
of self,
20:30
that if you are
20:30
not already there,
20:32
you are at risk
20:33
of an insanity
20:34
of your soul.
20:36
My plea to you
20:36
this morning is
20:37
flee to Christ.
20:39
Let this day
20:40
be a day
20:40
of repentance
20:41
and faith,
20:42
that there will be
20:43
a great rejoicing
20:44
in heaven
20:44
over the salvation
20:46
of your soul.
20:47
So let's look now
20:48
at the father.
20:50
The sub points
20:51
for the father
20:52
are as follows.
20:53
First,
20:53
the compassion
20:54
of the father.
20:56
Second,
20:56
the son interrupted
20:58
and restored.
21:00
You could say
21:00
the interruption
21:01
of the father.
21:02
And third,
21:03
the celebration
21:04
of the father
21:05
and his servants.
21:07
So first,
21:07
the compassion
21:08
of the father.
21:10
The beginning
21:10
of verse 20 says,
21:11
and he arose,
21:12
the younger son,
21:13
arose and came
21:14
to his father.
21:15
But while he was
21:15
still a long way off,
21:17
his father saw him
21:18
and felt compassion
21:20
and ran
21:21
and embraced
21:22
and kissed him.
21:24
A father
21:24
with this kind
21:25
of wealth
21:26
would have had
21:26
both a home
21:27
in the country
21:28
and a home
21:29
in town.
21:31
Right?
21:31
Most likely,
21:32
the home in the country
21:33
would have been
21:33
the larger home
21:34
and the place
21:35
where they stayed
21:36
more often,
21:36
but would have
21:37
come into town
21:37
to deal with
21:38
matters of business
21:39
or attend a celebration
21:41
or would have
21:42
had a home there
21:43
also to stay in.
21:45
But here we find
21:45
the father
21:46
in the townhome.
21:48
He is expectant
21:49
and he is watching.
21:51
He is eagerly awaiting
21:52
the return of his son.
21:54
And when he sees him
21:56
from a long way off,
21:57
Jesus tells us
21:58
that he felt
21:59
compassion for him.
22:02
Customarily,
22:03
a son such as this
22:04
would have returned
22:05
and been forced
22:06
to sit outside
22:07
of the gate
22:07
to his father's house
22:08
and endure
22:09
the ridicule
22:10
of the town.
22:11
But Jesus says
22:12
that the father
22:12
felt compassion.
22:14
The Greek word
22:15
used in the original text
22:16
is stronger
22:17
than just a momentary
22:18
feeling of affection,
22:20
but speaks
22:20
of a deep love,
22:22
a visceral,
22:23
a guttural love.
22:26
This is a father
22:26
who would have done
22:27
anything
22:28
for this son.
22:30
Psalm 103,
22:32
verse 13
22:32
speaks of our
22:33
heavenly father
22:34
as a father
22:35
shows compassion
22:36
to his children.
22:37
So the Lord
22:38
chose compassion
22:39
to those
22:40
who fear him.
22:42
And this father
22:43
in the parable
22:43
upon seeing him
22:44
and feeling compassion
22:46
runs to him.
22:49
Men of wealth
22:50
in this day
22:51
did not run.
22:53
Boys ran
22:54
to play.
22:55
Servants ran
22:56
because they were
22:57
told to.
22:58
Men of wealth
22:59
had people
23:00
who ran
23:00
for them.
23:02
In order for the father
23:03
to run,
23:04
he would have
23:05
had to
23:05
pull his robe
23:07
up to his knees,
23:09
gird up his loins
23:10
is a phrase
23:11
you may have
23:11
heard before.
23:13
And this was not
23:14
a dignified thing
23:15
for the father
23:16
to do.
23:17
So just imagine,
23:18
right,
23:19
again,
23:19
a parable,
23:20
but in this setting,
23:20
this wealthy man
23:21
in his town home
23:23
and the city
23:24
is seeing
23:25
what's going on,
23:26
right?
23:26
They're seeing
23:27
the son
23:27
coming from
23:28
a long way off.
23:29
They're anticipating
23:30
that this father
23:31
is going to shame
23:32
this son,
23:33
right,
23:33
who rejected him
23:34
as the father.
23:35
And what they see
23:36
instead,
23:37
right,
23:37
is a man
23:38
who shames himself,
23:40
right,
23:40
picks up his robe
23:42
to race
23:43
outside of the town
23:44
and to meet
23:45
the son.
23:47
Like the father
23:48
of Jesus' parable,
23:50
God humbled himself,
23:52
became a man,
23:54
and suffered
23:54
and died
23:55
in our stead.
23:56
Hebrews 12,
23:57
2 states
23:58
that Jesus
23:58
endured the cross,
24:00
despising
24:01
the shame.
24:02
In Philippians 2,
24:03
verse 6
24:04
and following,
24:05
says Jesus,
24:05
who though he was
24:06
in the form of God,
24:07
did not count
24:08
equality with God
24:09
a thing to be grasped,
24:11
but emptied himself
24:12
by taking the form
24:13
of a servant,
24:14
being born in the likeness
24:15
of men
24:16
and being found
24:16
in human form,
24:18
he humbled himself
24:19
by becoming obedient
24:20
to the point of death,
24:21
even death
24:22
on a cross.
24:23
And so,
24:24
I do believe
24:25
that we are meant
24:25
to see
24:26
the kindness
24:27
of the father
24:28
in the person
24:28
and work
24:29
of Jesus Christ.
24:30
So,
24:31
the parable,
24:32
certainly the father
24:33
could be considered
24:34
God the father,
24:35
but how did he accomplish
24:37
his humility?
24:40
Well,
24:40
through Jesus.
24:41
So,
24:41
I think Jesus
24:41
is the father
24:42
in the text,
24:44
showing this love
24:45
and compassion
24:46
for a wayward son.
24:48
So,
24:49
he runs to him
24:50
and then he embraces him
24:52
and he kisses him.
24:53
He fell on his neck
24:55
and kissed him
24:56
repeatedly.
24:58
John MacArthur
24:59
says of this
25:00
phrase,
25:02
the prodigal
25:02
came home
25:03
prepared to kiss
25:04
his father's feet.
25:06
Instead,
25:07
the father
25:07
was kissing
25:08
the prodigal's
25:09
pig-stinking head.
25:11
What a picture
25:12
of compassion,
25:14
loving kindness
25:15
towards this son.
25:16
But the father's
25:17
compassion
25:17
did not stop there.
25:19
We see,
25:20
secondly,
25:20
the son
25:20
interrupted
25:21
and restored.
25:23
And the son
25:24
said to him,
25:25
Father,
25:25
I have sinned
25:26
against heaven
25:26
and before you.
25:27
I am no longer
25:28
worthy to be called
25:30
your son.
25:31
And that's where
25:32
his speech stops.
25:34
And this is a variance
25:35
on his planned speech.
25:37
If you look at the
25:37
end of verse 18,
25:39
he says,
25:39
Father,
25:40
I have sinned
25:40
against heaven
25:41
and before you.
25:42
I am no longer
25:42
worthy to be called
25:43
your son.
25:44
And then he says,
25:45
treat me as one
25:46
of your hired servants.
25:48
So,
25:49
he's interrupted,
25:50
right?
25:50
He has rehearsed
25:51
this speech.
25:52
He has likely
25:52
said this over
25:53
and over
25:54
and over
25:54
in his head
25:55
as he has
25:56
journeyed home.
25:57
And he doesn't
25:58
get the last
25:59
sentence out
26:00
because the father
26:01
interrupts him
26:02
and says to his
26:03
servants,
26:04
bring quickly
26:04
the best robe
26:05
and put it on him
26:06
and put a ring
26:06
on his hand
26:07
and shoes
26:08
on his feet.
26:09
Now,
26:10
the best robe
26:10
was an extremely
26:12
significant article
26:13
of clothing.
26:14
Every wealthy man
26:15
would own
26:16
an ornate robe
26:17
made of the
26:18
finest fabric
26:19
that were reserved
26:20
for the most
26:21
special of events.
26:23
This was a robe
26:24
that the owner
26:25
wouldn't wear
26:26
to another child's
26:28
wedding.
26:28
So,
26:28
it wasn't even,
26:30
the other child's
26:31
wedding wasn't
26:31
worthy of it,
26:32
but only to the
26:32
weddings of their
26:33
own children.
26:35
It was reserved
26:35
for very,
26:37
very special
26:38
instances.
26:40
Giving him
26:40
this robe
26:41
granted him
26:42
more honor
26:43
than was ever
26:44
normally bestowed
26:45
upon a son.
26:47
The son didn't
26:48
get to wear
26:48
the robe,
26:49
it was the
26:49
father's
26:50
to wear
26:50
and only
26:51
in very
26:52
special
26:53
circumstances.
26:54
So,
26:54
this was a
26:55
massive way
26:56
for this
26:56
father to
26:57
say,
26:58
this is
26:58
my son,
27:00
to bring him
27:00
back into
27:01
town,
27:01
right,
27:02
under
27:02
everybody's
27:03
watch and
27:04
saying,
27:04
I'm taking
27:05
my very
27:05
best robe
27:06
and I'm
27:06
giving it
27:07
to him.
27:09
2 Corinthians
27:09
chapter 5
27:10
verse 21,
27:12
Paul writes,
27:12
for our sake
27:13
he made him
27:14
to be sin
27:14
who knew
27:15
no sin
27:16
so that
27:17
in him
27:17
we might
27:18
become
27:19
the
27:19
righteousness
27:20
of God.
27:22
Way more
27:23
honor
27:23
than we
27:24
deserve.
27:26
And he
27:26
gives a
27:27
ring to him
27:28
and this
27:28
ring would
27:29
have been
27:29
a
27:29
senient
27:30
ring
27:30
which had
27:30
been
27:30
carried
27:31
by the
27:31
family
27:32
crest
27:32
or seal
27:33
so that
27:33
it could
27:33
be pressed
27:34
into wax
27:35
on formal
27:35
letters
27:35
or documents
27:36
as verification
27:37
of legal
27:38
authority.
27:40
So in
27:40
placing a
27:41
ring on
27:41
the finger
27:41
of a son,
27:42
the father
27:42
is not
27:42
only showing
27:43
the son
27:43
has restored
27:44
honor,
27:45
but also
27:46
restored
27:47
authority.
27:49
2 Corinthians
27:49
chapter 5
27:50
verse 20
27:51
the first
27:51
path.
27:52
Therefore
27:52
we are
27:53
ambassadors
27:54
for Christ
27:55
God making
27:56
his appeal
27:56
through us.
27:58
Restored
27:58
honor,
28:00
restored
28:00
authority.
28:02
And he
28:02
puts shoes
28:03
on his
28:03
feet.
28:04
Hired
28:04
servants
28:05
and household
28:05
slaves
28:06
customarily
28:07
went
28:07
barefoot.
28:08
Masters
28:09
and their
28:10
sons
28:10
wore shoes.
28:12
So to
28:12
have shoes
28:13
placed on
28:13
the son's
28:14
feet was
28:14
yet
28:14
another
28:15
gesture
28:16
of
28:17
restoration
28:17
towards
28:18
this
28:18
son.
28:19
1 John
28:20
chapter 3
28:20
beginning
28:21
of
28:21
verse 1
28:21
see what
28:22
kind of
28:23
love the
28:23
father has
28:24
given to
28:25
or lavished
28:26
on us
28:27
that we
28:28
should be
28:28
called
28:28
children
28:29
of God
28:30
and so
28:31
we are.
28:33
Jesus
28:33
tells us
28:34
even more
28:34
about the
28:35
father's
28:35
compassion.
28:37
Third
28:37
point,
28:37
the celebration
28:38
of the
28:38
father and
28:39
his servants.
28:41
He asked
28:41
the servants
28:42
to bring
28:42
the fattened
28:43
calf and
28:43
kill it.
28:44
This is
28:44
verse 23.
28:45
And let
28:45
us eat
28:45
and celebrate
28:46
for this
28:47
my son
28:47
was dead
28:48
and is
28:48
alive again.
28:49
He was
28:49
lost and
28:50
is found
28:50
and they
28:51
began
28:51
to celebrate.
28:53
To slaughter
28:53
the fattened
28:54
calf was
28:54
a big
28:55
deal.
28:56
It is
28:56
likely a
28:57
calf such
28:58
as this
28:58
one that
28:59
would have
28:59
been set
29:00
aside in
29:01
preparation
29:01
for the
29:02
wedding feast
29:02
of the
29:03
eldest son
29:04
reserved for
29:05
a special
29:06
occasion.
29:07
For this
29:08
my son
29:09
was dead
29:09
and is
29:09
alive again.
29:10
he was
29:10
lost and
29:11
is found.
29:12
There's
29:13
the special
29:13
occasion.
29:14
There's
29:15
the wonderful
29:15
reason for
29:16
rejoicing.
29:18
The son
29:18
was dead
29:18
and now
29:19
is alive.
29:19
He was
29:20
lost and
29:20
now is
29:21
found.
29:22
And if
29:22
you think
29:23
back into
29:23
chapter 15,
29:25
the beginning
29:25
of it,
29:26
what man of
29:27
you having
29:27
a hundred
29:27
sheep,
29:28
if he has
29:28
lost one
29:29
of them,
29:29
does not
29:29
leave the
29:30
ninety-nine
29:30
in the
29:31
open country
29:31
and go
29:31
after the
29:32
one that
29:32
is lost
29:33
until he
29:33
finds it?
29:35
Or what
29:35
woman having
29:36
ten silver
29:36
coins,
29:37
if she loses
29:37
one coin,
29:38
does not
29:38
light a
29:39
lamp and
29:39
sweep the
29:39
house and
29:40
seek diligently
29:40
until she
29:42
finds it?
29:43
And then
29:44
there's this
29:44
rejoicing,
29:46
right?
29:46
Verse five,
29:47
when he has
29:48
found it,
29:48
he lays it
29:49
on his
29:49
shoulders,
29:49
rejoicing.
29:51
When he
29:51
comes home,
29:52
he calls
29:52
together his
29:52
friends and
29:53
his neighbors,
29:53
saying to
29:54
them,
29:54
rejoice with
29:54
me,
29:55
for I have
29:55
found my
29:56
sheep that
29:56
was lost.
29:57
Just so I
29:58
tell you,
29:58
there will be
29:58
more joy in
29:59
heaven over
30:00
one sinner
30:00
who repents
30:01
than over
30:02
ninety-nine
30:02
righteous
30:03
persons who
30:03
need no
30:05
repentance.
30:05
And verse
30:06
nine,
30:06
when she
30:07
found it,
30:08
she calls
30:09
together her
30:09
friends and
30:09
neighbors,
30:10
saying,
30:10
rejoice with
30:11
me,
30:11
for I
30:11
found the
30:12
coin that
30:13
I had
30:14
lost.
30:14
Just so I
30:15
tell you,
30:15
there's joy
30:16
before the
30:16
angels of
30:17
God over
30:17
one sinner
30:18
who repents.
30:20
The rejoicing
30:21
in heaven is
30:22
and will be
30:23
great over
30:23
the salvation
30:24
of souls,
30:25
because it
30:25
displays the
30:26
goodness of
30:27
God the
30:27
Father.
30:28
It is this
30:29
goodness that
30:30
Jesus speaks
30:30
of as he
30:31
tells his
30:31
parables,
30:32
that his
30:33
hearers would
30:33
see the
30:33
compassion of
30:34
the Father,
30:35
the Son
30:35
interrupted and
30:37
restored in
30:38
the celebration
30:38
of the Father
30:39
and his
30:40
servants,
30:41
and be given
30:41
much reason to
30:42
join in the
30:43
rejoicing of
30:45
heaven.
30:46
Now, as Jesus
30:47
is about to
30:47
drive home the
30:48
point, the
30:48
whole point of
30:49
this parable,
30:49
recall that for
30:50
us this story is
30:51
so endearing,
30:53
right?
30:53
Up to this point,
30:54
we love to
30:55
consider a
30:55
wayward son
30:56
returning home
30:57
and being
30:57
embraced by
30:58
his Father,
30:59
but the
31:00
Pharisees and
31:00
the scribes
31:01
would have been
31:01
astonished that
31:03
the Father would
31:03
have treated
31:04
such a
31:05
disrespectful son
31:06
in this manner,
31:07
right?
31:07
They are still
31:08
angry at the
31:09
son, right?
31:10
We're so glad
31:11
for the
31:11
restoration and
31:12
the celebration.
31:14
They're indignant
31:15
at this point.
31:17
The younger son
31:17
in asking for his
31:18
inheritance was
31:19
wishing the
31:20
father dead,
31:20
and the Pharisees
31:21
and the scribes
31:22
could not fathom a
31:23
father that would
31:24
love his son in
31:25
this way, right?
31:26
At this point,
31:27
they would have
31:28
been furious,
31:29
right?
31:29
The scribes and
31:30
the Pharisees are
31:31
represented by the
31:32
older brother in
31:34
the story,
31:35
right?
31:35
They are having
31:36
the emotions,
31:37
as Jesus tells
31:37
us to his
31:38
original hearers,
31:39
that the brother
31:40
is about to
31:41
express in the
31:43
story.
31:43
They see Jesus
31:44
with tax collectors
31:46
and sinners
31:46
drawing near to
31:47
him, and they
31:48
as self-righteous
31:50
religious elites
31:51
want to preserve
31:52
their status as
31:53
such.
31:54
They would never
31:55
want the reputations
31:56
of those drawing
31:57
near to Jesus to
31:58
solely their
31:58
reputations, and
32:00
they, as we will
32:01
see, want nothing
32:02
to do with a
32:03
God that would
32:03
love the younger
32:04
brothers of the
32:05
world.
32:06
May we not be
32:08
those people.
32:10
So let's look at
32:11
the older son.
32:13
Sub points for the
32:14
older son.
32:14
I know this is a
32:15
lot.
32:15
I hope it will
32:16
serve you.
32:18
The failing love
32:19
of the eldest son
32:20
for his father,
32:22
the failing love
32:24
of the oldest son
32:25
for his younger
32:25
brother, and the
32:27
unfailing love of
32:28
the father for his
32:30
oldest son.
32:30
verse 28.
32:34
He was angry and
32:35
refused to go in.
32:36
His father came
32:37
out and entreated
32:38
with him, but he
32:39
answered his father,
32:41
look, these many
32:41
years I have served
32:42
you, and I never
32:43
disobeyed your
32:44
command, yet you
32:45
never gave me a
32:46
young goat that I
32:46
might celebrate with
32:48
my friends.
32:49
The oldest son is
32:50
furious, and he is
32:51
furious with the
32:53
father.
32:54
He stands outside
32:55
fuming.
32:56
Why?
32:57
Because his
32:58
perceived rights
32:59
have been trampled
33:00
upon.
33:01
Because he didn't
33:02
run about seeking
33:03
his pleasure like his
33:04
younger brother, but
33:05
stayed and shouldered
33:06
more than his fair
33:07
share of the work on
33:08
his father's estate.
33:09
He wants justice, not
33:11
mercy.
33:12
He wants his younger
33:13
brother to get what is
33:14
coming to him.
33:15
He wants him punished,
33:17
not celebrated.
33:18
And so he begins to
33:20
grumble.
33:21
Right?
33:22
Look, these many years
33:23
I have served.
33:24
I have never
33:24
disobeyed your
33:26
command.
33:27
Is it true that the
33:28
oldest son was never
33:29
disobedient?
33:30
Of course not.
33:32
No one is ever
33:33
perfectly obedient, but
33:35
his perception is that
33:36
he has been perfectly
33:37
obedient.
33:39
He is self-righteous.
33:41
He believes that he
33:42
has been perfectly
33:43
good, or at least
33:44
good enough to earn
33:45
his father's favor.
33:47
This was the state of
33:49
the Pharisees and the
33:51
scribes.
33:51
Luke chapter 5,
33:53
verse 30 through 32.
33:54
And the Pharisees and
33:55
their scribes grumbled
33:56
at his disciples,
33:57
saying,
33:58
Why do you eat and
33:59
drink with tax
34:00
collectors and sinners?
34:02
And Jesus answered
34:03
them,
34:03
Those who are well
34:04
have no need of a
34:05
physician, but those
34:07
who are sick.
34:08
I have not come to
34:09
call the righteous,
34:10
but sinners,
34:11
to repentance.
34:13
Is Jesus suggesting
34:14
that the Pharisees and
34:15
the scribes are well?
34:17
Absolutely not.
34:18
He is addressing their
34:19
perception of
34:20
themselves.
34:21
He is saying,
34:22
You do not see that
34:23
you are sick, so
34:24
therefore you do not
34:26
see your need of a
34:28
physician.
34:29
In Matthew chapter 23,
34:30
verse 27 and
34:31
following, Jesus says,
34:32
Woe to you, scribes
34:33
and Pharisees,
34:35
hypocrites, for you
34:36
are like whitewashed
34:37
tombs, which outwardly
34:38
appear beautiful, but
34:40
within are full of dead
34:41
people's bones and all
34:42
uncleanliness.
34:44
So you also outwardly
34:45
appear righteous to
34:46
others, but within are
34:47
full of hypocrisy and
34:49
lawlessness.
34:49
righteousness.
34:50
The Pharisees and the
34:51
scribes should have
34:52
seen themselves in the
34:53
older brother and been
34:54
broken by their self-righteous
34:56
indignation toward the
34:58
younger sons who were
34:59
gathering around Jesus.
35:02
They should have humbled
35:03
themselves and turned to
35:04
the one who is telling
35:05
them this very story.
35:07
They should have done so in
35:08
the spirit of Matthew 5,
35:09
3.
35:10
Blessed are the poor in
35:12
spirit, for theirs is the
35:13
kingdom of heaven.
35:14
Mankind's issue before God
35:17
has never been one of
35:18
outward activity, but
35:19
rather one of inward
35:20
affection.
35:22
God wants our affections to
35:23
be set on him, which
35:25
yields obedience, but that
35:27
obedience is ultimately for
35:28
God.
35:29
It is aimed at him to
35:30
please him and glorify him.
35:33
The older son is not
35:35
obedient in order to
35:36
please his father, but to
35:38
get what he can from him.
35:40
Look what he goes on to
35:41
say.
35:41
I have been so perfectly
35:43
obedient, yet you have
35:44
never given me a young
35:45
goat that I might celebrate
35:47
with my friends.
35:50
He is angry at the father's
35:51
celebration over the return
35:53
of his younger brother, not
35:55
because he has not been
35:56
celebrated, but because he
35:57
has not been given something
35:58
material so that he might
35:59
celebrate with his friends.
36:01
He wants nothing to do with
36:03
the father, just like the
36:04
younger son wanted nothing
36:06
to do with his father.
36:08
They both want, in the case
36:10
of the younger brother, wanted
36:12
him dead, right?
36:14
The oldest brother failed to
36:16
love the father.
36:19
Remember verse 11 and 12.
36:22
And he said, there was a
36:23
man who had two sons, and
36:25
the younger of them said to
36:26
his father, Father, give me
36:28
the share of property that is
36:29
coming to me.
36:29
And he, the father, divided
36:31
his property between them, the
36:34
sons.
36:35
Note verse 31.
36:37
And the father said to him,
36:39
Son, you are always with me,
36:41
and all that is mine is yours.
36:45
He already had everything.
36:48
What the father wanted was his
36:50
affection, but he did not want
36:52
the father.
36:54
So this morning, you may have
36:55
never placed believing faith in
36:57
Jesus Christ.
36:57
You look really good on the
36:58
outside, but your obedience, your
37:00
imperfect obedience, I must add,
37:03
is not aimed at the pleasure and
37:05
glory of God, but at yourself.
37:07
You think that if you live just
37:09
so, you will earn God's favor, and
37:10
this is a damning thought.
37:14
Do not be like the older brother.
37:16
Turn to God in Christ.
37:18
Recognize that no amount of your
37:19
working will ever earn you a
37:21
place in his kingdom.
37:23
But the offer of the gospel is
37:25
that by faith in the perfect life,
37:26
the perfect death, and the
37:27
resurrection of Jesus Christ, you
37:30
can have your record of guilt
37:31
expunged, and you can have the
37:33
righteousness of Jesus.
37:35
You can be saved from God's wrath,
37:37
by God's mercy, to God's presence.
37:40
What a glorious truth.
37:43
Now, some of you have placed
37:45
believing faith in Christ, but we
37:47
are so quick to forget the great
37:48
love of the Father for us, and so
37:50
quick to either presume upon his
37:52
grace with licentious living, or
37:54
believe we can earn his grace with
37:56
legalism.
37:57
Beloved, you are saved by grace
37:59
alone, through faith alone.
38:00
Your faith will produce obedience
38:02
in you, but let it be from a
38:04
grateful heart that loves to
38:06
please and glorify God the
38:08
Father.
38:10
Secondly, let's look at the failing
38:12
love of the oldest son for his
38:13
younger brother.
38:15
He says, but when this son of
38:17
yours came, who has devoured your
38:19
property with prostitutes, you
38:21
killed the fattened calf for him.
38:24
Notice that he does not say, when
38:25
my younger brother came.
38:27
He says, when this son of yours
38:29
came, he disowns his brother.
38:32
But this had happened long before
38:33
in Jesus' story.
38:35
The oldest brother made no
38:37
attempt to reason with his
38:38
younger brother.
38:39
He did not try to stop him from
38:41
sinning against the Father so
38:42
egregiously, and he did not seek
38:44
his return and restoration.
38:46
It appears that the oldest brother
38:48
knew where his younger brother was
38:50
and what he was up to, but he did
38:53
not go to him.
38:54
He says, he has devoured your
38:56
property with prostitutes.
38:58
How would he know such a thing?
39:00
The oldest brother failed to love
39:02
the younger brother.
39:04
At this point, if you were in
39:05
Christ, I want you to long for the
39:08
younger brother to have a better
39:10
oldest brother.
39:11
A brother that would humble
39:12
himself by going on a long
39:14
journey for his younger brother's
39:16
return and restoration.
39:18
A brother who would gladly share his
39:19
inheritance with his younger
39:20
brother.
39:21
A brother who leads his younger
39:22
brother in a grateful obedience.
39:24
A brother who would rejoice to see
39:26
his father rejoice in the return
39:28
of his son.
39:30
Praise God that we have a perfect
39:33
older brother in Jesus Christ.
39:36
But that is not this brother.
39:38
That is not this brother.
39:39
He says, you killed the fattened calf
39:42
for him.
39:43
Do you hear the Pharisees and scribes
39:45
in the older brother's accusation?
39:47
He is saying, you have received a
39:51
sinner and are eating with him.
39:53
This is the very accusation they
39:54
were making at the beginning of Luke
39:56
chapter 15.
39:58
If the oldest brother loved the
40:00
father, he would have also loved what
40:02
the father loves.
40:05
You may find yourself this morning in
40:07
Christ, but loving what the world
40:09
loves.
40:10
What does the father love?
40:12
The father loves the restoration of his
40:15
sons.
40:16
The parable of the lost sheep and the
40:18
parable of the lost coined are about
40:20
the rejoicing in heaven over sinners
40:22
who repent.
40:24
Jesus says in Luke 19 10, for the son
40:27
of man came to seek and to save the
40:30
lost.
40:32
Lastly, let's look at the unfailing love
40:34
of the father for his oldest son.
40:37
Verse 31.
40:38
And he said to him, son, you were always
40:41
with me and all that is mine is yours.
40:43
It was fitting to celebrate and be glad
40:45
for this your brother was dead and is
40:47
alive.
40:47
He was lost and is found.
40:51
The father extends the same love he has
40:53
for the younger brother to the oldest
40:54
brother.
40:55
The father's love is unfailing.
40:58
When he was angry and refused to go in,
41:01
the father came out and entreated him.
41:04
Right?
41:05
The host of the party left the party to
41:08
go out to the older son.
41:10
Right?
41:10
And he entreated him, which means he urged
41:12
or implored or encouraged him to come in
41:15
and to join the celebration.
41:17
The father could have justly been angry
41:19
with the oldest son for fuming outside.
41:21
He could have sent a message to him
41:23
via a servant, but he comes to him
41:25
personally and he entreats him.
41:27
Don't be this way.
41:29
You are my son.
41:30
Love what I love.
41:32
Love what I love because I love you.
41:35
And I hope to help you see the
41:37
connection, right?
41:38
He entreats him, join in the rejoicing
41:41
of heaven for it was fitting to celebrate
41:44
and be glad.
41:47
So you see God's sons love what he loves
41:49
and he loves to see sinners come to
41:51
repentance.
41:52
He loves to restore those who are poor in
41:54
spirit to love those who return to him
41:55
in humility.
41:57
The Pharisees and the scribes were showing
41:58
themselves to not be God's sons as they
42:01
grumbled saying, this man received
42:04
sinners and eats with them.
42:05
Jesus tells them three parables
42:08
as a mercy to them.
42:10
This is Jesus going out to them,
42:12
outside of the celebration,
42:15
and urging them to come in
42:17
and be part of the celebration.
42:20
Did they heed the warning?
42:23
They certainly did not heed his warning.
42:27
There's a real life epilogue to this
42:29
parable.
42:30
It's not an epilogue that Jesus
42:31
mentions.
42:33
It's an epilogue that Jesus lives.
42:35
And it would have been told something
42:37
like this.
42:38
You could insert this final sentence.
42:42
The oldest son, in his rage against the
42:45
father, beat him, spit on him, mocked him,
42:49
and crucified him.
42:52
This is the end of this story.
42:56
And we do not want to be counted amongst
43:00
the oldest brothers in the way we respond
43:04
to the loving kindness of God towards
43:06
sinners.
43:08
Praise be to God that he purposed that
43:11
Jesus should die, that by the hands of
43:13
wicked men our Savior was murdered,
43:15
but that three days later he declared victory
43:17
over sin and death when he was raised
43:19
from the dead, and that now we by faith
43:21
may have life in him.
43:23
What they meant for evil, God meant for good.
43:28
This morning, let us rejoice in the unfailing
43:30
love of the Father, and let that be a love that
43:34
turns us in compassion, the compassion of the
43:38
Father towards others.
43:41
We ought never be, as redeemed people,
43:44
ever be people who seek our own status,
43:48
want to fight for our rights.
43:52
We ought to be going out in love and compassion
43:55
for the younger brothers of the world.
43:57
I do pray that that will be true of us.
44:00
Let us pray that we need someikkers.